I don’t know about you, but there were a lot of things I learned in high school that I will definitely never need to know- things like geometry equations or the details about the war of 1812. However, safe sex is something everyone should be taught, regardless of if you plan to be sexually active.
Sex education in American schools is, to put it lightly, dysfunctional, homophobic, and transphobic, and in no way educational. In a lot of schools, sex education is just “practice abstinence only†and “look at these pictures of STI’s so you won’t want to have sex.â€
This is problematic for a lot of reasons, not the least of which being that people are going to have sex anyway and they are only in more danger of getting an STI or getting injured, because they don’t know what the hell they’re actually doing or how to be safe.
A lot of people say that sex education must not be failing because teen pregnancy rates are dropping. This fact is true and the number has been dropping for approximately ten years according to the CDC.
However, I don’t believe this is because America’s sex ed program has become more inclusive or educational, but I believe it is because teenagers have the internet. Instead of having to learn from a teacher, or awkwardly ask an adult, people can just Google “how to put a condom on†or “where to get free birth control.â€
Another reason, I believe, that teen pregnancy rates have declined are the advances in medicine which has made contraceptives more accessible. The Plan B pill is pretty easily accessible and there are lots of clinics that offer free birth control and condoms.
Promoting safe sex is extremely important and it’s also extremely important that people aren’t just promoting abstinence. In addition to actually teaching students about how to have safe sex, it is vital to teach about sex other than heterosexual sex.
Statistics show that people with a penis who have sex with other people who have a penis are more likely to contract an STI than any other group of people. Also, people who identify as bisexual women are three times more likely to contract an STI than people who identify as either a lesbian or a straight woman.
Overall, knowing what is out there to have safe sex and to maintain healthy sexual lives is vital and cannot be done without proper sex education in schools. However, in America, only 20 states require sex education programs in schools and only 13 states require sex education to be medically accurate; that is only if schools actually have a sex education program.
Sex education is a human right that will keep people safe and healthy. America’s school system needs to be reformed to include sex education in health classes.
Emma Farina
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